Ali Kureshi was on his way home last week from a vacation in London when airport security officials pulled him aside and took him to a separate room for questioning.

The American Muslim of Pakistani descent said security agents searched him and demanded to know where he was from, his destination, his profession and how much money he had.

“It felt like an interrogation,” he said Thursday.

Kureshi, 27, still speaks bitterly of the experience, saying he was singled out because he is Muslim.

And while he condemns terrorism, he suspects anger also was behind the terrorist plot British officials said they foiled Wednesday, in which suspects planned to blow up U.S.-bound airliners originating from the United Kingdom.

The suspects in the case are believed to be mainly British Muslims, at least some of Pakistani ancestry.

Kureshi, a Castro Valley resident eating lunch at a Newark Pakistani restaurant, said terrorism has a root cause that needs to be considered.

He linked the U.K. terrorist plot to anger at U.S. policies, particularly the war in Iraq, which has taken a heavy toll on Iraqi civilians.

“Whoever is doing this should be punished, but we should also look at why,” he said. “There has to be a root, a reason for all the issues that are erupting.”

Others were more cautious Thursday, saying it was too early to react.

“We don’t know the facts yet. It would be premature to make any comments,” said Shahid Khan, a Newark resident of Pakistani descent.

But as news of the terrorist plot spread and U.S. officials raised the nation’s threat level, the Council on American-Islamic Relations encouraged mosques to step up security out of fear of an anti-Muslim backlash.

In the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, carried out by Muslims who espoused an especially strict interpretation of Islam, hundreds of hate crimes were reported to the organization. In 2005, the group received 2,000 reports of anti-Islamic hate crimes in United States, a 30 percent rise over the previous year.

No incidents were reported Thursday, however, said Sameena Usman, a spokeswoman at the organization’s Santa Clara office. Given the current climate, the organization is concerned that people will not make a distinction between terrorists and ordinary Muslims, Usman said. “Terrorists in no way represent the Muslim community,” she said.

Mosque officials reached for comment in Fremont, Newark and Union City, an area with a sizable Muslim population, reported no incidents Thursday.

As a result of the terror plot, U.S. authorities raised the nation’s threat level Thursday to red, the highest point in a five-point system, for U.S.-bound flights originating in the United Kingdom. The threat level was raised to orange for domestic flights.

“It’s a good idea,” said Dave Edwards, who worked as a mechanic for United Airlines for 14 years until 9/11 led to an industry-wide recession. “Who wants to get blown up on an airplane?” he added.

Fremont resident Shapeel Ahmed said security measures already were “pretty restrictive” since 9/11, but “we have to do what we have to do.”

Staff writer Angela Woodall covers Newark and Ohlone College. She can be reached at (510) 353-7004 or at awoodall@angnewspapers.com.